Killer Drones Get Stealthy

Today’s killer drones are sitting ducks. Loud, slow-moving, and simple to spot, any air defense more potent than a militant with an AK is liable to take one of the robotic planes down.

But the next generation of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) won’t be the airborne equivalent of fish in a barrel. They’ll fly faster and higher than the current drone crop. And they’ll be somewhat stealthy, as well.

Take the Avenger UCAV, unveiled last year by General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, the company behind the Predator and Reaper drones. With a 41-foot long fuselage and 66-foot wingspan, the Avenger is capable of staying in the air for up to 20 hours, and operating at up to 50,000 feet. Powered by a 4,800-lb. thrust Pratt & Whitney PW545B jet engine, it can fly at over 400 knots — 50 percent faster than the turboprop-powered Reaper unmanned plane, and more than three times as quick as the Predator.

General Atomics says the first Avenger is now flying two to three times a week. “Over the past 15-plus months, only one launch has been canceled due to parts and/or maintenance,” the company notes in a statement. A second and third Avenger are now in production. It’ll be a little longer than the first — 44 feet — and able to haul a 6,000 pound payload. That’s a 50 percent improvement over what the Reaper can carry.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the shape of the Avenger. It’s designed to let radar signals slip away, without spotting the jet-powered drone. It’s not a full-blown stealth design, as Lew Page notes: there’s still a radar-catching sensor or two hanging from the undercarriage. But compared to the Reaper, which has missiles and bombs draped off of the wings, it’s a major step in the stealth direction.

But unlike the Avenger, the $216 million Taranis hasn’t flown yet, and won’t head into the skies until 2011. That’s about a year behind schedule. It’s also unclear how much appetite the UK Ministry of Defense really has for the stealthy UCAV, even if its those test flights go perfectly. “Any development and acquisition schedule now depends on the outcome” of a high-level strategic review, Aviation Week observes.

Here’s The Thing With Ad Blockers

We get it: Ads aren’t what you’re here for. But ads help us keep the lights on. So, add us to your ad blocker’s whitelist or pay $1 per week for an ad-free version of WIRED. Either way, you are supporting our journalism. We’d really appreciate it.